Public Relations and Rebuilding: Phillies vs. Sixers

Sam Hinkie, 76ers GM (Philly.com)

As we sit a little over a month away from pitchers and catchers reporting and near the halfway point of the NBA season, the Sixers and the Phillies each find their respective immediate futures rather bleak. The Sixers sit at 7-30 as of Wednesday morning, and winter projections have the Phillies trending further below their 73-89 record from a season ago.


Despite the current mutual futility, it feels as if the Sixers are closer to a significant upswing than their neighbors across the street. Part of this feeling stems to some degree from the honesty and public relations savvy with which the respective managements have approach the rebuilds.

Full 90: Prince Ali: FIFA’s Last Hope at Salvation

This week it was announced that FIFA vice president Prince Ali bin Al Hussein will challenge Sepp Blatter during the governing body’s presidential election on May 29th. FIFA has been infested with controversy and corruption, especially with respect to the Qatar and Russia World Cup bids.

St. Louis Rams and "Hands Up, Don't Shoot"

nbcnews.com

While working off turkey hangovers, many Americans who tune into the NFL just wanted a nice slate football to conclude the holiday weekend and put off thinking about the looming work week.

But five St. Louis Rams wide receivers -- Tavon Austin, Stedman Bailey, Kenny Britt, Jared Cook, and Chris Givens -- brought those tuning into the Rams-Raiders game back to another reality they may have been trying to escape: the protests in Ferguson. In unison with a common phrase and gesture of the ongoing struggle that has spread to cities across the country, the players came out with their hands up in reference to "hands up, don't shoot."

MLB Games Are Over, Business Begins

sun-sentinal.com

The Year of the Backloaded Contract. I'll admit that it doesn't quite have a ring to it, but for Giancarlo Stanton and Russell Martin it's a reality nonetheless.


On Monday, Stanton signed the biggest contract in North American professional sports history at 13 years, $325 million. Regardless of Stanton's current talent-level and potential to still grow, it surely surprised many to see the Miami Marlins -- yes, the lowly Marlins! -- open up the checkbook wider than ever before.

World Series Ratings Down Again

The World Series this year featured great stories, the kinds that don't need media manufacturing and fluff. 

The Kansas City Royals find themselves in the World Series for the first time since 1985. Madison Bumgarner is now a cult hero. The series came down to Game 7 with a runner on third base, which apparently was only the third time ever. And the Giants themselves won their third World Series in five years.

S4SC: Legendary Former Marketing Executive Sonny Vaccaro to Speak at Drexel

Sonny Vaccaro, legendary former Nike marketing executive, will speak at the 2nd annual Sport for Social Change Conference presented by the Drexel Sport Management Student Union (SMTSU) on Friday, Nov. 14, 2014, the SMTSU announced Wednesday.

The title of Vaccaro’s lecture is “College Sport at a Crossroads: Perspectives on the Demise of NCAA,” which will feature his experiences helping to grow the Nike empire, while fighting for student-athlete rights along the way. He will deliver his lecture from 11-11:50 a.m. on Nov. 14.

S4SC: ESPN and Aspen Institute's Tom Farrey to Speak at Drexel

Tom Farrey, director of the Aspen Institute Sport and Society Program and ESPN reporter, will speak at the 2nd annual Sport for Social Change Conference presented by the Drexel Sport Management Student Union (SMTSU) on Friday, Nov. 14, 2014, the SMTSU announced Tuesday.

The title of Farrey’s lecture is “The Aspen Institute’s Project Play & Promotion of Physical Literacy,” which will feature his work as the director of the Aspen Institute Sport and Society Program. He will deliver his lecture from 10-10:50 a.m. on Nov. 14.

S4SC: Political Advocate Suzan Shown Harjo to Speak at Drexel

Suzan Shown Harjo, a prominent Native American political advocate, will speak at the 2nd annual Sport for Social Change Conference presented by the Drexel Sport Management Student Union (SMTSU) on Friday, Nov. 14, 2014, the SMTSU announced Monday.

The title of Harjo’s lecture is “The Washington R-Word: Racial Politics, Legal Challenges & Social Harms,” which will touch on her 40-plus years of work fighting for the rights of Native Americans. She will deliver her lecture from 1-1:50 p.m. on Nov. 14.

New NBA-ESPN/Turner Deal Cuts Cord

On Monday, the NBA struck a massive nine-year, $24 billion media right deal to extend current partners ESPN and Turner through 2024-25. The deal, impressive in its reach and its size, impacts a wide-range of people, including you and I. Kevin Draper summed up the different areas of high impact at Deadspin; it's thorough and well-worth the time to read. One of the major areas of focus in the deal is streaming rights, and the way the deal was negotiated, the NBA is preparing for a future where fans are pulling the plug on their cable televisions and opting for internet and mobile streaming.

The Place of Satire in Recent NFL News

In the wake of widely publicized abuse cases involving Ray Rice, Greg Hardy, Ray McDonald, Adrian Peterson and Jonathan Dwyer, the culture the National Football League has instilled, protected and enabled has crumbled over the past few weeks. And hopefully for good.

The macho man bravado of the football patriarchy run by men for men has taken a very public turn towards the instability that many critical of the sports world have long warned. 

There has been hard-hitting reporting, speculation, a rise in the opportunity for female voices to be heard in the sports media, plenty of good commentary and plenty of cringe-worthy commentary, among so much more. Packaged right along with it all has been the satirical takes on the recent happenings, providing an important and needed perspective.

MLB Needs to Own Holidays

It's a popular narrative: Baseball is dying! What will we ever do without America's pastime! Never mind that Major League Baseball is pulling in record revenues, pushing a Goodellian $9 billion. Sometimes the facts are inconvenient.


But national television ratings are down relative to years past. That's not really up for debate. While the league continues to reel in billions with a "B" from television contracts, I suppose you could debate whether or not the current ratings matter or not. (Local ratings are going strong, though.)

However, there's one spot that for two days a year, the MLB could win the day. In fact, I think they should be winning these days. They need events that are ripe for appointment viewing. They need to own Independence Day and Labor Day.

College athletics are perfect for breaking into sports

Well, it's that time of the year again. The time when students make their way to college campuses across the nation and begin their studies. However, it's also time for fall sports seasons to begin. For students looking to break into the sports industry, they needn't look further than their school's own athletic department to find the foot-in-the-door opportunity they're seeking.

After PGA Championship, McIlroy and Fowler are 2014 Winners

NY Daily News

It was at the beginning of the 2013 PGA Tour schedule when Rory McIlroy signed his massive $200 million long-term deal with Nike. By the end of the year, McIlroy had gone winless and there were rumblings that the deal was a bust. 


Some cited the new club manufacturer as a source of the struggles; some cited his then-relationship with Caroline Wozniacki. A little patience was all that was needed, though. Because in 2014, McIlroy is asserting himself as the top golfer in the world. And he looks to have gained the killer instinct it takes to win majors.

Massive World Cup ratings and lessons for Fox

The 2014 World Cup featured brilliant play on the pitch, culminating in Germany's 1-0 extra time victory over Lionel Messi and Argentina in the final. The Germany-Argentina final also drew a massive viewing crowd on television, garnering 26.5 million viewers between ABC and Univision, the World Cup's Spanish-language broadcaster. For comparison, the Heat-Spurs NBA finals averaged 15.5 million viewers.

What do the ratings mean for the World Cup moving forward?

Guard the Post: State of a Questionably Named Franchise

I was reading ESPN.com a few days ago, a section I traditionally avoid called "NFL Nation", and a writer asked a very interesting question. Kevin Seifert asked, "Why would a capitalist such as Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder oppose changing his team's name when he could make a ton of money from merchandise sales adorned with the new brand?"

Fair question, Mr. Seifert.

Under Further Review: A look back at 1-10

It has been quite a ride through the first 10 editions of Under Further Review. We've talked with people whose coverage is a product of Drexel University and whose coverage is one for national consumption. Some of them freelance, some are full-time writers, some are editors. 10 different perspectives on the sports journalism sphere. But what did we learn?

Under Further Review No. 10 - Max Blau

This week's Under Further Review is adapted from an informational interview that I did with Max Blau for Dr. Giddings' Professional Portfolio class back in February, so note the different format. For anybody who has an interest in ever writing a freelance article, Blau's insight is extremely valuable. Enjoy!

Guard the Post: Super Bowl L errr 50

Yesterday, a historic announcement was made. The National Football League will, for the first time since 1971, not have a roman numeral in the title of it's biggest game. The 50th Super Bowl will not be titled "Super Bowl L", as it should have been if they followed the same trend that they have for the last 44 games. The name of the game, which will be hosted at the brand new Levi's Stadium in San Francisco, CA in 2016, will be Super Bowl 50.

Under Further Review No. 8: Andrew Albert

Newspapers aren't dead yet. Chuck Bausman, sports editor of the Philadelphia Daily News, is quick to remind you when chatting about the industry. Andrew Albert is one of the young Daily News talents playing the role of keeping it alive.

Albert has been an intern at the paper since last year in addition to his roles as senior writer for City of Basketball Love and as a student at La Salle University. The Syracuse, N.Y. native has grown to love the Philadelphia sports landscape and has already done a tremendous job covering it alongside some Philly sports writing legends. Albert spoke to the SMTSU about his start in the industry, learning as a new writer and the state of the newspaper industry.

SMTSU Spring Series Announced for May 7-10